Another Way
by slivershell
Summary: What led up to this? Things didn’t have to be this way; things shouldn’t be this way. Ash didn’t have to… PalletShipping. One-shot, for now.


I CHALLENGE YOU!!!! Yeah, that's right, you. Do accept?

Good. Let me tell you how this is going to work.

Below this message will be a link to a fic that I have written, Palletshipping of course. You read it and, here's the challenge, you guess what world it's based off of. Let me explain what I mean.

Pokemon is one world. Let's say I took the main storyline of something like... Code Geass and I changed things just enough so that I could replace the characters of Code Geass with the characters of Pokemon. The main storyling would be the same, but everything else would be different.

That's what did, but I didn't use Code Geass. You get to guess which world I'm took the main storyline from. Give it a shot! It'll be fun!

What if you win, you ask? Well... You get the joy of knowing that you're a genuis! And I'll give cookies. How about that? Well, if that's good enough, then enjoy the challenge!!!

_Another Way_

"I hope you fail." His words cut the tension like a knife. It was silent expect for the wind howling through the trees outside. The full moon hung in the sky providing the only light in the room.

Gary waited for something, anything. A thunder bolt from the yellow rodent on the other's shoulder or punch to the back. He got nothing. All he heard were footsteps heading for the exit and then he couldn't hear it anymore.

What led up to this? Things didn't have to be this way; things _shouldn't_ be this way. Ash didn't have to…

Gary let out a sigh as he went to the next room of the old, small house. The house use to be his home. He lived here with his parents and sister many years ago. He was twelve when his Grandfather came to pick up his sister and himself to live somewhere else. Before that, they were living with Ash and his Mom and the two boys had gotten close.

Ash had always been the happy and optimistic one, even when he was aware of what was going on in the world around him. Gary knew what was going on all too well. His parents had explained things to him and his sister, saying that there was chance they would never come back. Being eight then, Gary didn't really comprehend, or he just didn't want to. It didn't really hit him until a few months later. Everyone was outside celebrating while he was silently mourning the loss of his parents.

Everyone but Ash.

Young Ash saw him sitting alone on the log and went to join him. Gary wiped away his tears and ignored him, hoping he would go away like the others did. But he stayed and he started to talk.

"I miss my Dad the most when there are parties like this. He was really fun to be around and always made everyone laugh. He's gone now and I was sad for a long time." He looked over at Gary. "My Mom said that he was sad that I was sad and to make him happy, I would have to be happy. And now I am!" Ash gave him a big smile.

Gary just looked at him as Ash stood and put his hand in his face.

"It's the same for your Mom and Dad. Just be happy and they will be to."

Gary had good time later that night and it was all thanks to Ash. The two boys became close friends over time until he left with his Grandfather.

Now he was eighteen, old enough to be on his own with his pokèmon, so he came back to the small town that he had grown to miss. There wasn't much to do but protect the town from wild pokèmon and monsters, but he didn't care. All he wanted at that moment was to see his only true friend. His Grandfather could not wait to know about his safe journey back.

The town didn't change at all with the exception of the people being a little older. Gary looked around outside because Ash spent most of his day out of the house. He would rush through breakfast just to go outside and play with some friends and some friendly, wild pokèmon. He wasn't there, which was very odd.

He did see some familiar faces though. A little ways into the forest he saw Brock and Misty, two of Ash's friends. They were in the middle of training their pokèmon. It looked really odd to see Vulpix go against a Staryu. Misty had the upper hand from the start because of the type differences, but Vulpix was pretty fast and was able to avoid most of the water attacks.

Brock was the one to notice the newcomer's presence. "Hey, it's Gary!"

Misty saw this as a chance to attack. "Staryu, water gun!"

It was a direct hit, leaving Brock's Vulpix on the ground, defeated.

"Oh no!" He let out a sigh and pulled out his pokèball. "Vulpix, return."

Misty also returned her Staryu, "You shouldn't have been distracted, Brock. We really can't afford that." She turned her attention to Gary, giving him a glance over. "You're Gary? Wow… You're actually taller than me now."

"Way taller," he said with a triumphant smirk. Misty used her height against him and Ash when they were younger, it drove them both crazy. "Have you guys seen Ash?"

They exchanged a look, a worried look.

Brock spoke, changing the subject. "So, how long has it been? Six years, right? Where did you move to?"

"Cerulean City…"

"Oh really?" Misty jumped into the conversation. "That's where I lived before I moved here. It's a really nice place, right by the water. I bet you saw tons of water pokèmon."

"Yeah…" This was getting a little weird. "Where's Ash?"

They both flinched. Gary was getting worried.

"Okay, someone needs to start talking-!"

"He's training," Brock finally answered.

He let out a sigh of relief. Was that it? No need to be jumpy about training. "Where is he training now?"

"Hey guys!" A now older Ash jumped out of the bushes with a Pikachu not far behind, smiling at his friends. "I did it! I finally did it, tomorrow I get to-!"

"Hey Ash!" Brock interrupted. "Look who came back after six years!" He gestured to Gary.

Ash faced him and things went oddly silent for a while.

"What are you doing here?"

Gary smacked his forehead. Of all of the things he could have said… "Nice to see you too, Ashy-boy."

He should have known something was wrong then. Everyone was smiling and welcoming him back, but they were using those smiles that held secrets behind them. It was mostly apparent on Ash's mom, Delia. Her eyes always showed her true emotion, Gary's sister had told him that, though she was better at masking it now.

At night, Gary demanded answers. He waited until they were outside and alone to do so. Ash didn't seem surprised, like he was expecting it and asked for a more secluded place to speak with him. The town may not have changed, but Ash definitely did. He was mature, a bit more mature then a boy like him should have been. Gary chose his old house; it was still vacant.

Then Ash told him. Now Gary understood what the worried glances were for and the secret smiles.

"You're joking… You have got to be joking!" Silence. "Ash, tell me you're joking…" His voice was pleading. Ash wasn't looking at him. His gaze stayed glued on the floor. He wasn't joking. "No…"

"I'm going there in the morning," Ash said, bringing up his gaze to meet Gary's. "It would mean a lot if you came…"

"Why?"

Ash was confused by this question. Wasn't it obvious? "I know we didn't see each other for a long time and you just got back, but-"

"Not that," Gary cut him off sharply. "I mean, why are you doing this!?" He was yelling now, but he would rather yell than hit something.

"If I don't, then who will?" Ash sounded calm. He even looked calm.

This wasn't right. Gary was usually the calm one with Ash flying off handle at everything.

"Others, there are plenty of others Ash. It doesn't have to be you!"

"Even so, I feel like this is something I have to do."

Those words were so familiar. They made him think about the time his parents left. Gary's mother told him something similar and he didn't understand then. He still didn't understand. All he knew was that he never saw his parents again.

Gary shook his head and turned away from him.

He would never see Ash again.

"Gary?"

"I hope you fail." He wanted to see Ash again. He didn't want him to disappear.

Gary let out another sigh in the now empty house. What time was it? He looked out the window and saw orange rays of light coming from the distant horizon. Already morning and he didn't get any sleep. That didn't matter now.

He rushed over to Ash's house only to find that he was gone and his mother remained.

She greeted him a smile, a painful one. "He's not here. You just missed him."

Gary looked over to the old stone building at the end of the town. "He's already there?"

She nodded. "He's really determined to get Mew."

"Why…" he asked in a near whisper. "Why is he doing this?"

"Ash is always willing to help anyone in need. Now that the world is in need, he's going help in the best way he knows how."

"This isn't the best way…"

"But it's the only way."

"There's another way."

"I would love to hear it." Delia said. Gary was silent after that. "I know what you're trying to do Gary, and I appreciate it. But Misty and Brock already tried to talk him out of it. Ash is a stubborn boy and won't change his decision, so there's really nothing you can do, but support him."

"Have you tried to talk him out of it?" Gary asked.

She shook her head. "I know my son. Talking him out of it would be throwing him into it more. No good would have come from it."

"He might live a little longer," Gary said softly.

Delia put a comforting and understanding hand on his shoulder and Gary was grateful for it. It was something he really needed.

The day went on and Ash did not return from the building. Exactly how long did these things take?

"It varies from person to person," Delia said as if she read his mind. "It might take him two days or a week. You look exhausted, Gary." She gave him another sad smile. "Get some sleep. You're room is still here."

She led him up to his old room and he passed out as soon as he lied down. He really was exhausted. Gary woke up the next day in the afternoon. The sun was still high in the high sky and he jumped out of bed to see if Ash had returned. He hadn't. He was still in the stupid old building.

A temple is what the others call it. To Gary, it wasn't a temple, there was nothing holy or worth any worship about the place. Night time came and Ash still hadn't returned. What the heck could make him take so long?

Until the next day, Gary would give Ash another day to come out of the old pile of rocks. If he was not out by the afternoon, he was going in there after him.

Delia took Gary shopping for some fresh clothes and allowed him to bathe and get some food in his stomach. It was like he's living in the house again.

He went to the town's Pokèmon Center to get the pokèmon that he dropped off on his day of arrival. They all seemed to have recovered from the long trip to Pallet and looked happy to see him. They nearly crushed him with their playful tackles. Good thing Golem knew not to do anything like that. Arcnine on the other hand wouldn't get off of him.

The next day came around and it rolled on to the afternoon. Ash was not back. Gary grabbed his pokèball belt and headed over to the stone building. He called out Umbreon. To get to the old place, he would have to go through some woods filled with wild pokèmon and monsters. He had to be ready.

He didn't have much trouble, just a few Rattata's and Pidgey's. They didn't stand a chance against Umbreon. There was statue of Mew at the entrance of the 'temple'. Gary had to bite his tongue to keep himself from ordering Umbreon to tackle its head off.

He entered the temple and was pretty much ignored. People could come here whenever they wanted to pray. Gary scoffed at that thought. Praying… what a load of shit. He knew exactly where to go next and headed up the stairs, paying no attention to the elders that told him he wasn't allowed there. Like they would even follow him, fearing that it would upset Mew.

Gary didn't believe in any of that.

/…/

"Gary!?"

"What are you doing here!? You can't be here!"

That was the kind of greeting he expected. "Where's Ash?"

"You have to leave," Misty said sternly.

"Where's Ash?" Gary repeated. He wasn't going to back down either. While they were staring each other down, Umbreon started to sniff around the place.

Brock could easily see this was going nowhere. "He's asking to be Mew's trainer."

Gary crossed his arms. "And it's taking him three days?"

"It's hard for a beginner," Brock said. "So it would take him a while."

"Isn't there a time limit for this kind of stuff?"

"Not usually," Misty answered, still staring Gary down.

"Why are you letting him do this?"

She backed down and looked off to the side. "We tried to stop him, we really did…"

"Ash was really determined though," Brock said. "It became clear that he wasn't going to change his mind, so he thought joining him would be better than him going at it alone. He would need some people to protect him."

"Breon!"

Gary's attention turned over to his pokèmon, who was looking for Ash. Umbreon was at the top of some stairs with Ash's Pikachu next to her. Behind them was a stone door with the pokèmon, Mew engraved in it. Ash was in there. Gary headed for the stairs.

The doors opened and he stopped half way. Ash stepped out breathing heavily while leaning against the wall for support with sweat running down his face. Pikachu gave him a worried look and stayed close.

Ash pushed himself off of the wall and started to descend the stairs. Apparently he wasn't ready to leave the comforts of the wall since he could only go down two steps before falling down. Gary reacted immediately, catching him before he hit the stairs.

"I did it…" he said in between pants. He reached to his belt and held out a pink pokèball made of crystal. Brock and Misty climbed some stairs to get a closer look. "I got Mew."

"That's great Ash," Brock said with a nod.

Misty gave her best smile. "I knew you could."

Ash blinked at them. If Brock and Misty were in front of him, then who was holding him? He leaned back and saw Gary staring back at him. He smiled at him. "I knew you would be here."

/…/

Gary had carried Ash home. It was way more problematic than it sounded. People were stopping him left right, asking Ash to see the pokèball and the pokèmon inside of it. Couldn't they see he could barely keep his eyes open? The pokèmon trainer had to explain over and over how tired he was. Gary was relieved when they finally reached Ash's house.

Delia must have heard all of the commotion outside because once they got inside she had food ready for them. This was the one thing Ash could wake up for. As he gobbled down the food, he showed his mom the pokeball and told her about Mew. The reason why it took so long was that Mew was a very playful pokemon and just wanted to play some games before she let Ash become her trainer. It was very difficult to keep that connection with Mew for three days.

After dinner, Gary helped Ash to his room and sat him on his bed.

"Are you mad?" the younger of the two asked.

"No," Gary answered, removing Ash's arm from his shoulders. "Why?"

"Because I didn't fail," he clutched the pink ball tightly in his hand. "I'm one step closer to becoming a Pokèmon Master…"

"And one step closer to dying…" Gary ran a hand through his brown spiky hair. "I just don't get it. It's like you don't care about who you're leaving behind..."

"What? How could you say that!? Of course I care!"

"Can't you see what this is doing to your mother? And Brock and Misty?" And me, he wanted say.

"I'm doing this for them…"

"Let someone else do it."

"I can't. I can't ignore this."

There was silence. Gary could think of nothing else to say to try and change Ash's mind.

"I'm leaving in the morning," Ash put the pokèball down on the table next to his bed. "Could you come… and see me off?"

And say good-bye forever. It would be the last time he would see Ash, knowing that he will die in the end. Despite that fact, Ash was still will to go on his journey. Why? Gary still doesn't understand no matter how hard he tries to. He never will and he can't. He left Ash's room without a word to the boy.

He just couldn't say good-bye.

/…/

The whole town was there. All of the residents of the Pallet Town were there to see Ash off. Even the town pokèmon were accounted for. The people had things to give him for his journey. Some people gave him food, some gave him money and others gave him items for the pokèmon. He would need all of the supply he could get for the pokèmon, seeing that Pokèmon Centers were scarce.

He searched through every face in the crowd. Gary wasn't there. Maybe he would come later? When Ash went to his friend's room, he wasn't there. He figured Gary had left early to walk around town to gather his nerves or something. But he hadn't come back, his mom just checked a few minutes ago. The town wasn't that big, where could he have gone?

Misty put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't think he's coming," she said in an apologetic tone.

"I think she's right," Brock said.

"Pika pika," Pikachu said patting Ash on the leg. He sounded just sorry as Misty did.

Ash didn't want to believe it, but he had been waiting for half an hour for Gary's big head to show up and maybe try one more time to stop him. However, he wasn't even in town. He just came and gone just like that. It's like he didn't care enough to wish Ash luck, or even say good-bye…

"Well fine!" he muttered to himself. If Gary didn't care then why should he?

Pikachu looked up at his friend with concern. He never usually talked to himself.

"Alright," he turned to face the town. "I'm going then."

"But Ash," Delia stepped up, placing her hands on her sons shoulders. "Are you sure you wouldn't want to wait a little longer?"

"Exactly how long?" Ash wasn't the type to say no to his mom.

"Maybe another minute? Or another year?" Her grip grew tight and Ash could feel her shaking. "Or thirty…"

He usually didn't say no to his mom, but he would have to. "I'm sorry Mom…"

"I-it's okay," Delia wiped away the tears that were streaming down her face. "I know you can do it Ash. I just wished that you wouldn't, but I can't stop you. I know that." She pulled her son into her arm and squeezed him tightly. He was shaking just like she was. This would be the last time she got to hold her son, her only child. "I'm proud of you, and so is your Dad."

Ash nodded, hugging back just as tightly. As soon as they let go, he said good-bye and ran up the road. He knew that if he had stayed any longer, he would break down. He heard Brock, Misty and Pikachu call after him, but he couldn't go back.

He collapsed to his knees when he felt like he couldn't run anymore. His lungs felt like they were on fire as he took deep breaths to satisfy their thirst for oxygen. He had no clue how far he went, or in what direction. Hopefully it was in the right direction.

"It hurts to say good-bye," said a familiar voice. Ash looked up and saw that face he had been searching for. "Believe me, I know."

They looked at each other, letting the silence speak for them.

"I didn't sleep," Gary started. "I was up all night thinking… trying to think of a way to end all of this. I came up with nothing." He pushed his weight off of a stone and walked over to Ash, who was still on his knees. "Then I realized I don't know enough to think about some alternative method that might be possible. I have to learn more and there's only one way to do that." He offered his hand to Ash for more than just helping him up.

He took it.

"I'm not going to let you die, Ash. I'll find another way."

"So, Gary's joining us?" Misty asked walking up with Brock. "Great. Maybe he can help with carrying some of the stuff."

Ash looked around on the ground. "Where's Pikachu?"

"Pika…" Pikachu came up from the hill pulling a bag three times his size behind him.

Ash screamed and ran to his pokè friend. "Why are you carrying all that Pikachu!?"

"He said he wanted to help," Misty said.

"He was carrying twice the things you have, slave driver!"

"And half of it is yours!"

Ash blinked. "Is it really?"

"Does this happen a lot?" Gary asked Brock.

"Three to four times a day," he answered with shrug. "You'll learn to ignore it."

Gary nodded, watching Ash getting scolded by Misty.

He would make sure he wouldn't have to say good-bye.

/…/

So, did you figure it out? Need some hints? Alright. The world that I'm basing this off of is from a video game. Need another maybe? Alright, one more.

It's an RPG. Now that you Finally Figured it out, give me your answer and I'll give you your cookies! Whatever kind you wish! Now that was fun wasn't it? Would you to do another maybe? Or have a sequel to this? I sure had fun. Though it was hard to write...


End file.
